Kol rubbed his jaw. “My father decided we would bide our time and come to your leaders when we knew our offer was one that they couldn’t refuse. My father ordered my brothers home two years ago because he knew your leaders would yield to our wishes eventually.”
I eyed him curiously. “Because the Earth is falling apart?”
Kol shamelessly nodded. “It is no secret that Earth is slowly becoming uninhabitable, so we used that to our advantage. We waited and waited, and when we went back to Earth days ago and made the offer for your females once more, your leaders jumped to accept our deal when we mentioned the unnamed planet was liveable for humans. They accepted our deal in exchange for credits, crafts and its coordinates.”
I sat cross-legged and rested my elbows on my knees, completely invested in Kol’s tales.
“I shouldn’t be astonished that they opted to save their own hides but to turn tail and run without even informing the rest of us that our race had a chance on a new world is hard for me to believe. It just seems so … evil.”
Kol said nothing; he only watched me.
“I really shouldn’t be surprised, though, right?” I said aloud. “The evillest acts I’ve seen and heard of were committed by humans. Maybe it wouldn’t have been such a tragedy for my species to become extinct. When you think about it, it’s really a kindness to the cosmos.”
I jumped at Kol’s growl.
“Do not talk about dying,” he snarled. “I cannot think of you not being in my life.”
That surprised me more than my leaders’ abandonment.
“A few days ago, you didn’t even know I existed, Kol.”
“I am not human,” he repeated for what seemed to be the hundredth time. “Maji form bonds very quickly to those we care for because it is our nature. I can’t imagine you being dead. I won’t imagine it because it won’t happen for another fifteen hundred years or more. Thanas willing, I’ll go before you, so I don’t have to endure the pain of a mate loss.”
I felt my mouth drop open.
“Fifteen hu-hundred years,” I stammered. “Have you lost your mind?”
“No.” Kol’s brows furrowed. “It is still inside my head. Why?”
I shouldn’t have laughed at him, but when he took what I said literally, it was too funny.
“I mean, are you crazy?” I clarified. “My lifespan is very short, Kol.”
He clicked his tongue. “Once we mate, you will receive my essence, and that will keep you alive for a very long time.”
Hold up.
“Your essence?” I repeated. “Like your freaking soul?”
He barked a laugh before he nudged himself away from the column, crossed the room, and sat a metre away from me on the bed. I shifted to face him and waited.
“I’ve never had to explain this before, so please be understanding, okay?”
I gulped. “Okay.”
Kol inhaled and exhaled. “When a couple mates, we males have instinctual needs that must be acted on for a mating bond to be sealed for life. If our instinct is denied, we do not mate the female, and no bond is formed.”
“Okay,” I said tentatively.
“When a couple shares sex, before or after an orgasm, the male will … he will … he has to … Please, keep in mind that he doesn’t want to do it, but his instincts are telling him—”
“Kol,” I cut him off. “It’s okay; you can tell me.”
He watched me, and I got the impression he was scared I would run away from him.
“He bites the female.”
I gasped. “He bites her?”
“On the neck.”
“On the neck?” I repeated.
“And … uh … he doesn’t release his hold on the female until his essence has entered her bloodstream and—”
“Wait, what?”
“When his body recognises the female as his mate, it has a strong urge to claim her. He bites her, and this releases his essence through the tips of his teeth. Royal and highborn Maji wear gold caps on our teeth to avoid accidental bondings. Sometimes sex with a female is so good it can confuse a male and encourage him to bond with a female, our caps help us avoid making a mistake unless it is a true bond.” Kol winced when he looked at me. “It sounds a lot worse than it is, shiva, I swear it.”
“Let me summarise,” I said, holding my hand in the air so Kol wouldn’t speak. “If we sex—”
“When we share sex.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “When we have sex, before or after we come—”
“What does ‘come’ mean?”
I paused. “It’s another way of saying ‘orgasm’.”
“Come.” He tested. “I like it, I will use it from now on.”
I pressed on. “So, when we have sex, before or after we come, you’ll bite me on my neck and won’t let go until your essence is in my bloodstream. Do I have that correct so far?”
“Yes.” Kol sighed. “But let me explain why.”
“Please,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Go ahead.”
“With a Maji female, my essence would calm her uva contractions, which cause her pain and force her to seek a male to mate so they can share furs and conceive a young one. It also is a chemical bond between us; her scent is all a male would ever desire and yearn for, and his scent would be the same for her.”
I scratched my head. “That’s all fine and dandy for your females, but what will it do to a human? In this case, me!”
Kol hesitated, and I dangerously waddled my finger at him.
“No bullshit answers, either. Be straight with me.”
“It is hard to say it in terms you will understand.” He groaned and shook his head. “We have no way of knowing for sure, but Surkah is positive that my essence would enter your bloodstream, then your heart, and … recode it. That is the best way I can explain it. My essence would be like … like a life potion to you. Once you have it, it will always flow through your veins, and keep you and your organs healthy for a very long time. It will dramatically slow down your aging.”
This is too much.
I lifted my hands to my temples and rubbed.
“Stuff like this doesn’t happen, Kol. It just doesn’t.”
“Yet here we are.” He smiled softly. “Two different species intended to be the other’s mate for life.”
I lowered my hands and frowned at him. “I don’t want your chance at a mate to be ruined if this doesn’t go right.”
Kol tensed. “I’ve never doubted my sister, and I won’t start now. If Surkah says it’s safe, then it’s safe.”
“I’m not talking shit about Surkah’s lissa, but this is a big risk.”
He scooted closer to me and took my small hands in his large ones. “I would never hurt you, shiva.”
Not intentionally.
“What if something backfires, though, and my blood makes you sick, and you die?”
The thought of Kol dying felt like a sucker punch.
“You cannot harm me, my human.”
I glared at him, which only made him snort.
“Okay, if I died during our mating, which I won’t, and my essence entered your bloodstream, then it will die, and then you will eventually die. My essence will only live in you and keep you alive as long as I live. Mates are nothing without the other, so it is a blessing when the female dies not long after her male does because it saves her pain. No one wants to experience a mate loss.”